TKR 21 weeks and struggling

[Dancingqueen]

Hello. I’m 5 weeks post op (TKR right knee) and feeling so frustrated and depressed. I found this forum and it has been helpful. I keep thinking (probably severe lack of sleep), that I wish I hadn’t done the surgery. Seems like there are so many success stories.
Thank you for being here☺️

 

[Jockette]

Hi and Welcome!

I‘m sure you are doing fine. 5 weeks is still in the “ angry tissue” stage, and at that point almost all of us wished we hadn’t done this surgery. It does get better.

Please tell us the date of your surgery and we’ll make a signature for you.

I will leave you our Recovery Guidelines. Each article is short but very informative. Following these guidelines will help you have a less painful recovery.

Just keep in mind all people are different, as are the approaches to this recovery and rehab. The key is, “Find what works for you.“ Your doctors, PTs and BoneSmart are available to help, but you are the final judge as to the recovery approach you choose.

Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:

rest​

elevate​

ice​

take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

don't overwork.​

3. Do what you want to do BUT

​

a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​

b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​

4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these

​

the BoneSmart view on exercise​

BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy​

5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

Activity Progression for TKRs​

6. Access to these pages on the website

​

Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications​

Wound Closure​

The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.

 

[Dancingqueen]

Thank you. My surgery was August 2nd. One issue from beginning is that I’m allergic to all anti-inflammatories and Tylenol doesn’t do much. I’m trying to stay to one Oxycodone at night (surgeon recommended getting off as soon as I can). I do have a great ice machine, a great partner and moral support dog!
PT is 2x week. My ROM is fair (3-100), but, after last “work out”, I’ve been in terrible pain for 3 days. Dreading PT today.

 

[Jockette]

The most effective way to take Tylenol is 2 x 500 mg tablets every 6 hours, to a total of 4,000 mg (4 doses) in 24 hours. You need to take it regularly, to keep up the levels in your bloodstream. If you just take the odd dose now and then, it's far less effective.

Check all other medications you're taking, to make sure there is no Tylenol/Acetaminophen/Paracetamol in them. If there is, scale back one or two of your regular Tylenol doses, so you stay within that safe 24 hour limit of 4,000 mg.

PT should not be a “work out” that causes additional pain for 3 days. This type of PT is not only unnecessary, it is inappropriate for this recovery. You don’t have to do every exercise they tell you to do, and you can refuse for them to even touch your leg, especially of they are force bending it.
Saying no to therapy - am I allowed to?

BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy

You will have noticed there is a significant opinion here about the potential hazards of PT. You may feel that your therapists are experts and know what you should be doing. However, over the last several years I've been here, I have observed that the more intensive the regimen of exercising...

bonesmart.org

 

[Roy Gardiner]

5 weeks post op (TKR right knee) and feeling so frustrated and depressed...I wish I hadn’t done the surgery.

It's very, very early days. Soon your knee will be better than pre-surgery, and will continue to improve. Without the surgery, it would have just got worse.

 

[Dancingqueen]

Thank you. I have felt utterly alone (in my head) and this site is, well, enlightening. I had the bone on bone pain for a decade and, although weight loss, pt, shots, etc helped, just seemed like walking my dog was becoming impossible (hills? Ha!). So, my memory is cloudy these past weeks.
I’m a lung and breast cancer fighter/survivor over the last 5 years..but, after those surgeries, everybody said “rest”.
This is another beast!!

 

[Jockette]

This is another beast!!

It certainly is!

Hang out here with us, Bonesmart has a wealth of advice, information and support.
We will offer helpful suggestions,

Cheer your accomplishments

And send hugs when you are feeling down.

Best wishes!

 

[InkedMarie]

Things will get better. Patience is def needed with TKR! Soon, you’ll be walking your dog and dancing!

Marie

 

[benne68]

I’m a lung and breast cancer fighter/survivor

Then you've got this. I'm also a 2 cancer survivor, and I say from experience that this will be easier than what you've been through.

The first weeks are the toughest. But it does get better with time. Be patient. In a few months, you will be walking your dog again -- and those hills will be nothing!

 

[RaeRae1]

Hi Dancing Queen, no you’re not alone in this. I’m a little over 5 wks out (Aug 3) and things will get easier soon. It’s a dang roller coaster physically and mentally, not sure which is tougher. Follow Bonesmart guidelines and words of encouragement, it will definitely help. Recovery is slow but worth it. ❤️
Martha (RaeRae1)

 

[Dancingqueen]

Thank you all!!!

 

[Dancingqueen]

Just FYI..after reading many things on this forum and actually speaking my fears (with great feedback!), I just came back from PT-feeling empowered!
I wrote down questions and concerns. He points to the leg press and I say no, not today. I’d like to talk..and, instead of “pushing through”, we’re doing gentle!
He heard my fears about excessive pain after PT. Not working for me.
It’s kind of cool when you speak up.
Sitting with ice machine, blueberry smoothie and my loving dog, Bruno.
Boy, day sure feels different.
Knee hurts, brain-not so much♥️

 

[Jaycey]

@Dancingqueen Well done for speaking up at PT! Yes indeed, it pays to be your own advocate. No need to brutal PT - it's just counter productive.

 

[Dancingqueen]

Just read about changing ideas on “working hard”..I grew up with putting in extra hours, study hard, play competitively, etc.
Even after removal of portion of my lung (cancer), I tracked getting off morphine, then, Oxycodone as quickly as possible (I’m strong)..but, what a rude awakening with this TKR! Working hard, “achieving goals”, no matter what, has left me in such a state of round the clock pain, I am reevaluating WHY my joint is so angry.
Anti-inflammatories are off the table and, since my doctor decided no more narcotics, I have squirreled one pill a night to get through pain.
I am trying not to future trip.
Only 20 pills left, meaning either I better feel better or sleep will be compromised.
I feel anxious this morning.
6 weeks in
But, on positive note, being more gentle today.

 

[sistersinhim]

I suggest you go to youtube and watch a live total knee replacement. You will see why this surgery is so different than any other surgery and that working hard has a negative effect on most patients.

Coming from a background of working hard has got to be difficult for you not to do. Unfortunately, you are learning the hard way that this doesn't work for most people, yourself included. Ice and elevate as much and as long as you can. Ice is a wonderful pain reliever and swelling reducer if you elevate at the same time. For a couple of months I did that the whole time I was sitting or laying down. It helped so much. Give it a try. I think you'll find it works for you, too. Just be sure to have a cloth between your leg and the ice pack. I iced all night long except to get up after about 4 hours to change out the frozen water bottles and ice.

 

[Dancingqueen]

Thank you☺️

 

[hawk2go]

Just read about changing ideas on “working hard”..I grew up with putting in extra hours, study hard, play competitively, etc.

... and you will get back to working hard when your knee has healed more. Right now working hard includes acknowledging how your knee responds to different activities and giving it time to heal/rest when it complains. I challenged my OS who ordered PT:

me: should I require 3-5 days to recover from a PT session?​

OS: no​

me: well it hurts for days after and then I need to rest and can't complete my home exercises​

OS (as though reading from Bonesmart): hold off from anything that hurts while doing it and if it hurts a day or 2 after doing, wait a while before you try it again​

Kudos for beating cancer. You've definitely got this!

 

[Dancingqueen]

I suggest you go to youtube and watch a live total knee replacement. You will see why this surgery is so different than any other surgery and that working hard has a negative effect on most patients.

Oh my gosh. At first I tried watching “real” knee surgery and hit stop quickly (I felt kind of sick)..then, I found a 3-D animated version with robotics. Fascinating until the knee was “bent”…I think I need time.
BUT, the pain and discomfort makes a LOT of sense.

 

[sistersinhim]

I watched one at about 4 months out and then looked at my poor knee and gave it a gentle pat. What an awful thing it had gone through! It did make me much less impatient.

 

[hawk2go]

Yeah, watching that surgery is not for everyone. When we say every bit of tissue, bone, nerve, tendon and ligament around the knee was cut, stretched or disturbed - it's a fact. It makes total sense that it might take a full year to get all that sorted out. I watched the animated vid before surgery and a few recorded vids afterward, months later. I have mad respect for anyone able to watch their own surgery.